Background and purpose: The objective of this study was to assess the neurological manifestations in a series of consecutive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-positive patients, comparing their frequency with a population hospitalized in the same period for flu/respiratory symptoms, finally not related to SARS-CoV-2. Methods: Patients with flu/respiratory symptoms admitted to Fondazione Policlinico Gemelli hospital from 14 March 2020 to 20 April 2020 were retrospectively enrolled. The frequency of neurological manifestations of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection was compared with a control group. Results: In all, 213 patients were found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2, after reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction on nasal or throat swabs, whilst 218 patients were found to be negative and were used as a control group. Regarding central nervous system manifestations, in SARS-CoV-2-positive patients a higher frequency of headache, hyposmia and encephalopathy always related to systemic conditions (fever or hypoxia) was observed. Furthermore, muscular involvement was more frequent in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Conclusions: Patients with COVID-19 commonly have neurological manifestations but only hyposmia and muscle involvement seem more frequent compared with other flu diseases.

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I would like to thank my collaborators, Prof. Emilian Dudas, Cezar Condeescu and Prof. Ioannis Florakis, for the stimulating discussions that expanded my knowledge and opened new perspectives on the topics I have been working on.A special thank is deserved to my collaborator and friend, Ivano Basile, who taught me a lot of new physics I did not know of and opened my eyes to new worlds to be explored, as well as for his kindness and availability even outside physics. His passion and enthusiasm have been stimulating and inspirational in my research activity.During these years I had the opportunity to be involved in interesting conversations, from which my work undoubtedly benefited, with many brilliant colleagues and senior scientists including Prof.

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Objectives: An adequate perioperative analgesia reduces neuroendocrine stress response and postoperative complications. Opioids are the most effective parenteral drugs to control pain and stress response.Design: This is a prospective randomized double-blinded controlled study.Setting: Institutional tertiary level.Patients, participants: Fifty patients underwent general anesthesia with desflurane for laparoscopic cholecystectomy.Main outcome measures: To compare two different doses of remifentanil (0.15 mcg/kg/min or 0.3 mcg/kg/min) in reducing markers of stress. Perioperative stress was assessed through the dosage of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, growth hormone (GH), and prolactin (PRL). Three venous blood samples were collected from patients: before transferring the patient to the operating room (Time 0), at the trocar insertion (Time 1), and 1 hour after the end of the surgery (Time 2).Results: Hemodynamic parameters showed no differences between the two groups. The authors observed an increase of GH and PRL in both groups at trocar insertion (Time 1) (p = 0.473 and 0.754, respectively). ACTH and cortisol showed a decrease at Time 1 and an increase after surgery (p = 0.586). The modification of stress parameters levels showed no significant differences between the two groups.Conclusions: The results of our study showed that a lower dose of remifentanil is equally effective in controlling stress hormones during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.